Dar es Salaam — Tanzania National Roads Agency (Tanroads) has directed residents living along Morogoro Road, whose houses have been earmarked for demolition, to remove the graves of their loved ones which are in their compounds.

Tanroads has earmarked some of the houses for demolition to pave the way for a project to expand Morogoro Road to eight lanes from the current four.

Head of Tanroads in Kimara Region, Mr Johnson Letechura, told The Citizen that the agency has instructed the residents to shift the remains of their relatives, including those buried at the Kiluvya cemetery.

"There are some residents who have already started removing the remains of their loved ones for reburial elsewhere," said he.

According to Mr Letechura, those who will not heed the call will see the remains of their relatives being removed in the manner stipulated in the Municipal Cemetery Act.

However, some residents continued to protest against the demolition.

A resident of Kibamba-CCM, Ms Winfrida Mbonde, said her father built the house in 1980. She insisted that by then the law extending the road reserve from the 60-metre limit to 121.5 metres was yet to be enacted.

"It is unfair that we have been ordered to vacate from our houses to pave the way for demolition without being compensated," said Mr Mbonde.

Demolition continued yesterday at Kimara Stop-over on the outskirts of the city. Emotions were high as some house owners wept uncontrollably as Tanroads bulldozers pulled down their houses.

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